Nyaro’s Day

The speakers around Charlie Circle exploded with dramatic music. Drums echoed between the stands. There was a horn and a viola and an organ all pre-recorded. THe audience clapped in unison. Some stood, raising their hands up in a pattern that moved through the seats. Tenor had singlehandedly taken Zane to the semifinals. Chii and him hadn’t been favorites at all, each overcoming an opponent with two or three badges on their way here. She shook his hand.

Prince and Pachu appeared opposite each other on the field. My seat was up against the wall, on the side of the court itself. I’d forced each step of my way here, trudging along the flat ground and shallow stairs until I could slump down in my chair. My knees bobbled up and down, and I shivered as lighting ran down my legs. It had been so constant that it started to feel lukewarm and wet- electricity was supposed to be anything but. I held my left arm against the armrest, ready to push myself off and run away from this place as squickly as I felt the need to.

”Recall him…” I spat under my breath. Leading with Prince was the most reasonable choice Zane could have made. He could face Nyaro directly, and Chii had used her first in all of her other matches. I took a deep breath. Was that an accident, or did she actually realize that she’d used Nyaro first for the last battles people saw? Prince could face Nyaro, but he was at a severe disadvantage against the lightning type Pachu. “Recall him… Recall him…” My voice grew slightly louder as I repeated it.

Zane adjusted his footing. He studied the field and shook his head, “D-did someone tell you my strategy?”

“Champion Fire said it was the exact thing Cyan would have come up with!” She bounced on her feet slightly, her toes digging into the dirt under her, “I was shocked when he called me personally before the match! Really, shocked! He said one of his friends at the tournament wanted him to help me as a personal favor.”

“Prince tackle it!” Zane pointed forward. He took a deep breath, “W-well, of course you need a champion to tell you what to do.”

“Don’t you?” She snapped and the Pachu hopped out of Prince’s way. The rodent danced around him as he tried to recover. “It was obvious anyway. I would have come up with it myself.” She locked her eyes on the fight, “Now, Pachu!”

“Get out of the way!” Zane warned. Too late, Pachu surged with electricity, sending the shock straight up Prince’s legs. It spread through his flippers and hissed off the top of his head as he collapsed. Naught to one. Zane flicked Squirm into the field next. He hadn’t lost a single Capmon before now in the tournament.

Chii recalled the Pachu. Nyaro hopped out onto the field. There were big, fluffy earmuffs strapped around her ears. I blinked as I saw it, Fire couldn’t have told her just to do that today. This was her own touch. There was a limit to the kinds of equipment Capmon could carry, but something simple like this was almost always allowed.

“Ear coverings?” Zane blinked, “Squirm, be aggressive, she can’t hear commands properly!”

Chii swirled her finger around in a rehearsed rhythm. Nyaro stalked around the outside of the field, carefully keeping herself at the edge of Squirm’s reach. Each time Squirm’s stinger poked forward, Nyaro hopped slightly to the side. Finally, she came all of the way between Zane and Squirm, her eyes angled up toward Chii’s fingers.

“Come on, keep pushing her toward me!” Zane clenched his fist. He smiled.

Nyaro hopped back from each attack, her tail flicking back and forth. Squirm wobbled forward. Facing Nyaro, he couldn’t see the hand signs Chii was giving. Nyaro strutted forward, snapping to the side each time Squirm made an attack. Each near miss shook through the audience.

Around me, there were yells rooting for Squirm, for Zane. “Just a little closer!” and “You’ve got her now!” This late in the tournament, Chii had her own fans, too. They were just a little quieter. I always remembered it being that way with myself and Fire. His cheers were a little louder, a little broader.

Nyaro stood right next to Squirm, no margin for error in her crafty evasions now. Squirm was getting slower, his attacks less direct and more telegraphed. Finally Nyaro hopped over him as he drove his stinger just a little too far forward. She gingerly landed on all four of her paws just behind him, then slashed her back claw across his exoskeleton. It didn’t break through, but it was enough to push Squirm off his balance.

As soon as he fell to the ground, Nyaro carefully paced around him, taking little slashes at his armor until finally one claw poked through. Squirm had to be recalled. Naught to two.

Zane bent forward. He looked around carefully, “Come on… Come on, where are you?” He gritted his teeth.

The referee stepped toward him, “You have to send your last Capmon, now.”

“Just give me a moment!” Zane yelled. He nodded, “Sorry… I…” He sent out Tenor.

Tenor fluttered through the air carefully. He began singing, as he always did, and Nyaro’s earmuffs allowed her to simply ignore it. Chii smiled, “After we fought at the creek, I really read about Songbats a lot! It’s a pretty scary Capmon if you don’t know to be ready for it!”

“We won’t lose to some cheap trick!” Zane’s leg was shaking.

“Cheap trick?” Chii scratched the back of her head, “You should study more. This strategy was written about by a champion more than fifty years ago.” Tenor dove down toward Nyaro, slashing at her with the claws at the ends of his wings. She made a clicking sound with her mouth as she hopped out of the way. Her tail slapped the ground under her and she lowered on her hind legs, her body swaying side to side and her ears flattening against the top of her head.

“Tenor, you’ll get her this time!” Zane insisted. I shook my head and counted down with my fingers as the Songbat started another dive.

Three. The wind caught in his wings as he started downward.

Two. Nyaro shook, her legs pressing under her. Her eyes trained on Tenor as he approached.

One. Tenor put his claws out in front of him, an all-or-nothing attack. Nyaro launched off the ground, easily clearing his committed claws, and wrapping her arms around his head. She scratched the back of his head as she held firmly onto him, her lower legs slashed and the membrane of his fleshy wings. He tried lifting back into the air, but couldn’t keep his balance. Nyaro tumbled off of him, turning in the air to land on her feet. Tenor crashed into the ground, immobile. The stadium roared. Zane fell to his knees.

Chii leapt up. Her eyes caught mine in the audience, and her shoulders tightened slightly. Zane begrudgingly accepted her handshake to show that the match was over. “Nice try!” She put her hand on his shoulder.

“Next time,” he forced himself up. Zane stopped before he could exit the stadium. Applause shook the stadium. It was always a surreal feeling- like they were clapping for a defeat. A taunt. I found myself clapping with them, sparks flashing between the palms of my hands as I did. It wasn’t for his loss, but for the wins that got him there.

I went back to my room. The finals would be starting in two hours. The surges had waxed and waned throughout the day, but I started to feel like I was pushing them away. I only needed to hold them back until the end of the day, just long enough for my match against Chii. I could win quickly against her, then I wouldn’t even have to answer any questions about me leaving the tournament. I loved when I could make the best of both worlds.

What if I held it that long? Could I keep forcing it back, forever? I jittered excitedly as I thought about it. If I could keep doing that, then maybe it would dwindle and diminish, and it would all go away like a bad bout of the flu. I clapped and a burst of energy snapped out from my fingers. A bright ball of electricity orbited around my fingertips like a little flashing star. As I moved my hand around, it swirled after me, flashing brilliantly.

I clapped again, trying to make it go away. It was persistent. Having forced it out, some of the pressure in my nerves seemed to disappear. I was walking easier. And the spectacle of me battling with electricity swirling around me like magic- the fans would love that. A deep breath filled my lungs. Fire couldn’t do this.